Fast-track courts to close

RINING LYNGDOH

Shillong, March 14: Meghalaya deputy chief minister and in-charge of law department Rowell Lyngdoh today said fast-track courts in the state would wind up by 2015, after which all cases will be taken up by normal courts.

“Fast-track courts set up in the state will end in 2015,” Rowell said in reply to a question raised by Opposition legislator Paul Lyngdoh during question hour on the sixth day of the budget session here today.

On the first day of the budget session, governor K.K. Paul mentioned that Meghalaya on an average registers 257 criminal cases per month and crimes against women and children have risen by 23.14 per cent in 2013 compared to 2012.

Currently, there are three fast-track courts in the state — at Shillong, Jowai in Jaintia Hills and Tura in Garo Hills. Paul Lyngdoh today called for the setting up of fast-track courts in the eight remaining districts of the state.

Paul Lyngdoh appeared dismayed with the deputy chief minister’s statement and sought to know if the state government would set up fast- tract courts from the state fund since these courts would be over by 2015. Rowell, however, said there were no such plans.

The deputy chief minister could not provide a satisfactory reply in the House to a question of another Opposition legislator, Ardent M. Basaiawmoit that the trail of cases was slow since out of 543 cases, 373 cases were disposed of while 170 cases are pending at Jowai.

In Shillong fast track court, out of 334 cases, 273 disposed of and there are 61 pending cases.

However the Tura fast track court has only 37 pending cases out of 558 cases.